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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Daryl Devore Discusses Settings

This week we’re going to find out a little about
author Daryl Devore. July’s theme is ‘Settings’ so Daryl will be talking about settings.
She’ll also tell us a little about herself and her writing, and answer some fun
questions.

Daryl Devore (@daryldevore) lives in an old farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her
husband, a large salt water aquarium full of fish, a black cat named Licorice
and some house ghosts. Her daughter is grown and has flown the nest. Daryl
loves to take long walks on her quiet country road or snowshoe across the back
acres, and in the summer, kayak along the St. Lawrence River. She has touched a
moon rock, a mammoth, and a meteorite. She’s been deep in the ocean in a
submarine, flown high over Niagara Falls in a helicopter and used the ladies
room in a royal palace. Life’s an adventure and Daryl’s having fun living it.

Beverley: How important are settings to a story?

Daryl: To me – settings are very important – just under
characters. Think of the difference between -

A dark, January evening, snow falling, wind howling and
a lonely farmhouse with a light shining from one window.

Vs

A billionaire's super yacht sailing on the Caribbean
with the sun shining, music blaring and bikini clad women dancing on the deck.

Both of those settings could have a similar plot line
running through – a budding romance or sinister murder mystery, but there is a
different feel to each and the story would reflect that.

Beverley:When you think of settings what do you think of?
(locales, houses, rooms, weather)

Daryl: I'd say locale is the first thing I think about. In
book 1 of the Two Hearts One Love trilogy – What Happens in Bangkok - I set it
in Bangkok, Thailand. I used the exoticness of that locale – the people, the
names and the food.

Beverley:
Do settings contribute to the mood of the story?
(romance/ conflict/tension) If yes – how?

Daryl: Yes. Definitely. Some settings seem to ooze romance
(a Caribbean beach at sunset), others instill fear (a post-apocalyptic prison).
My guess is because we all have an impression of what it should be like and we
put that impression onto the scene. In the horrors of a post-apocalyptic
prison, a passionate romance can still be written, but it'd be a challenge to
overcome the feeling of the setting.

Beverley: Do you have any examples of the great use of settings in books you’ve
read?

Daryl: Part of the reason I love Agatha Christie mysteries
is when I read them I settle into that era. The mansions, the clothes, the
dialect; all of it wraps you into the book.

Beverley:
How do you use settings in your books? Or do you?

Daryl:I love changing the
settings of each of my stories. I like taking my readers on a world tour. In my
first books, I used contemporary New York City, Chicago, Miami, Indonesia,
Alaska, Detroit and then shifted to medieval England.

In this trilogy, the reader is taken to Bangkok,
Thailand, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, Goa, India, Paris, France and Rio
De Janeiro, Brazil.

Beverley:Can you share
an example from one of your books?

Daryl:The crowded plaza was
filled with people milling about, johns talking to prostitutes, food vendors
hawking their meals, booths where you could buy knock-off anything, and people
holding large drinking cups, begging for money. A mother holding a baby stuck
the cup out, holding it in front of a group of men. They walked around her. A
young boy, Darien guessed he was about three, dressed in a Spiderman shirt and
dirty green shorts, held out a cup and danced. People walked around him,
ignoring him. A rotund businessman bumped into the child, knocking him down.
The man did not stop or even acknowledge the existence of the little beggar.
Darien gripped Erika's hand and pulled her toward the boy. Before he got there,
the child popped up onto his feet and continued to beg.

The
boy grinned, pointing at Erika. "Pre-e lae-e."

Darien
looked at Erika. "Yes, she is a pre-e lae-e." He reached into his
wallet and pulled out a small bill and dropped it into the boy's cup.

The
boy tilted the cup, peered inside, then grinned. "Korb kun krup."

Darien
nodded. "Mai bpen rai."

Erika
leaned closer. "You speak Thai?"

"Just
enough to get around."

Beverley:
How long have
you been writing?

Daryl: Writing towards being published – 5 or 6 yrs – I
think.

Beverley:
What genre do
you write in and why?

Daryl:There
is an evolution going on in what genre I write. I have 2 pen names. This one,
Daryl Devoré, is an erotic romance writer – except that's not
what I am any more. People often confuse erotic with fetish or alternate
lifestyle and that's not what I write about. I write super-hot romances where
the sex scenes are detailed, but not pornographic. My other pen name, Victoria
Adams, writes sweet contemporary and NA contemporary romances.

Beverley:
Who influenced you the most in deciding to become a writer?

Daryl: Nobody. I've been writing since I was little. My
stories got longer as I got older. The benefit of being an only child – there
is the time and the silence to let creativity flow.

Beverley: What obstacles did you have to overcome to begin
creating your work?

Daryl:Nothing.
I sat down and started typing. Honestly, it was a simple as that.

Beverley: What gets your creative juices flowing?

Daryl:No
idea. I think my muse sits around somewhere in the back of my head and then
decides it's time to write. For What happens in Bangkok, I was in the car,
riding down to NC to visit my daughter. I picked up my laptop and wrote 3
chapters of a book that I didn't even know I was going to write and that book
morphed into a trilogy. It actually tried to be 4 books, but I put my foot
down.

Beverley:
What will stop
your creative muse the quickest?

Daryl:My
self-confidence taking a dip. It can do that at the drop of a hat and it takes
a bit for me to get it back. What causes my self-confidence to dip – oh, just
about anything. But mainly, edits. I feel like an idiot after I get them. My
pride really gets up and in my head I "fight" with the editor on
every suggestion. And an unfair review can crush me for a while. I take a lot
of yoga to help me get past the muse blocks. There is a yoga saying – get rid
of whatever doesn't serve you. An unfair review doesn't serve me, so I meditate
on making the irritation of it dispel into the ether.

Beverley:What do you have for breakfast?

Daryl: It changes every day. I could make pancakes tomorrow
then have yogurt and granola the next day.

Beverley:What do you wear when you are writing?

Daryl: It changes every day. I could make pancakes tomorrow
then have yogurt and granola the next day.

Beverley:Where do you do most of your writing?

Daryl: In a chair – laptop on lap – by a window overlooking
the side fields.

Beverley: Do you have a favorite cartoon character? Why?

Daryl:Road
Runner. No idea why. I just find him hilarious. Beep. Beep.

Beverley: Who would you love most to meet 'in person' and
why?

Daryl:Queen
Elizabeth. I'd loved to get her to sit back, take her crown off, put her feet
up, hand her a beer and then just chat. I'd ask her all sorts of things like –
have you ever had take-out pizza? And then I'd order one.

Beverley: If you had an unexpected free day what would you
do with it?

Daryl:Winter
– snuggle down with a good book, next to the woodstove. Summer – go putz around
in my garden. It's one of my happy places.

Beverley: What are you working on now?

Daryl:The
edits of book 3 in the trilogy arrived the other day. Notice I am writing this
interview and not working on edits. They really do throw me for a loop. Also, I
have a Christmas short that is at the publishers and am waiting on those edits
any day now. I expect both of those books to be released in December.

If I do get down to writing there is an erotic
medieval fantasy – dragon included - that needs to get finished.
And a time travel romance that needs rewriting. I went a bit off course and it
needs to be reined back in.

Two Hearts ~ One Love Trilogy

Blurb
- Book 1 –What
Happens in Bangkok

To
save Darien's life his brother asks, "Can you walk in high heels?"

Erika
Bailey, owner/manager of a drag queen club in Bangkok, Thailand has happily
settled into all aspects of her new life, except for her lack of a love life.
When a new diva auditions, Erika is bewildered over her instant attraction to
the blond God, Apollo.

Darien
Scott is on vacation after a world tour and mistakenly figures the safest place
to be is at The Black Dragon with the head of a Triad. When the club is hit,
Darien is the only person to get out alive. Nowhe's running from the police and a Triad.
Mistake number 1.

Disguised
as a drag queen, he's hired by Erika, but falls hard for his new boss, then
struggles with not coming clean with her. Mistake number 2.

Can
he fix his mistakes and find a life filled with love or is he headed straight
for mistake number 3?

Blurb
- Book 2 –Darien's Desire
You loved What Happens in Bangkok
and want to know what happens next….

It's
complicated is not only her relationship status, but the definition of Erika
Bailey's life. She loves managing her drag queen club in Bangkok, Thailand, but
her rock star boyfriend resides in North Carolina. And to top it off, her
father threatens she must stay away from Darien or lose the Pink Flamingo. Does
she protect her club or her love?

Darien Scott, Grammy
award winning international superstar, wants nothing more than to wake up in
the arms of Erika, the woman he loves, but contractual obligations force him to
exotic video shoots and an isolated movie set with one of Hollywood's sexiest
stars.

With the feeding
frenzy of social media trending every aspect of Darien's life—real or not—it's
hard for Erika to know the truth. Will she be able to see through the lies and
trust Darien? Or will evidence from damaging Internet rumors condemn their
relationship?

Blurb
- Book 3 – Title not released yet.

Concerned
for his fiancée, Erika Bailey’s safety, rock star Darien Scott races to Bangkok
to protect her, only to discover his brother is missing. Fearing the worse, he
contacts his nemesis, Gan, and makes a repulsive deal that will free his
brother and protect Erika’s club, The Pink Flamingo. Or so he thought. When a
python and Gan are involved, things go sour, and Darien sinks into a deep
depression.

Erika
is disheartened by the betrayal of her parents. Her father's destruction of her
club, and the humiliation of her mother’s drunken behavior have her feeling
down, but those are the least of her worries. She has a wedding to plan, but
won’t. Having been betrayed too often, she’s scared to trust Darien.

How
can Erika prove to herself and Darien that she loves and trusts him? Simple.
All she has to do is jump out of a plane.

Excerpt fromWhat Happens in Bangkok

He
pointed at the food vendors. "Do you want to get a snack before we hit the
club?"

Erika
glanced at the various booths. "Which one? The smells from each are just
mouth-watering."

"Easy
choice. That one." Darien pointed. "The lady's wearing purple. You
love purple, so we get food from there."

An
elderly lady, wearing a purple silk Thai dress, smiled a toothless grin. With
broken Thai, he ordered. Turning to Erika, he pointed at the row of soda cans.
"Drink?"

"Diet
Coke, please."

The
lady scooped sticky rice into two takeout containers, then sliced pieces of
roast meat, from the chicken hanging by the side of the booth. The pieces
dropped onto the containers of rice. She pointed at the sauces. Darien nodded
and she plopped a few Thai chilies and ginger on the top of the chicken. Erika
pulled out her wallet.

Darien
placed his hand on her arm. "No, I get to pay for something. This I can
afford. Seats three rows from the front at the National Theatre, not so much.
Chicken and rice from a food vendor, I got this." He handed over a few
bahts, refused the change, and accepted the containers, chopsticks and drinks.
"Korb kun ka."

The
elderly lady smiled and bowed.

Darien
held out one of the containers. "Want to find a spot to sit or wander
around the plaza?"

"Let's
play tourist. Check out the souvenirs. See the sights."

"Wow,
you really have been locked in the club for too long. See this." He waved
his chopsticks in the air. "This is the outside world. It's very large.
Some of it's ugly, but a lot is nice. Like this chicken." He shoveled some
into his mouth.

Savoring
the food, neither spoke as they walked among the booths. One would stop, point
at something and laugh, then move on. They paused by a busker on a unicycle
juggling flaming batons.

Erika leaned close. He caught the scent
of her perfume above the smells of the food and crowd.

A CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGY

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About Me

I'm a Canadian author who writes murder, mystery, medical thrillers, romantic suspense, often set in Montana on a ranch. I recently dived into self-publishing and I love the challenge. It's exciting. Hunted was my first novel, then Missing and Targeted, the third in the series, set in Montana. Another series about an assistant PI, A Cruise to Remember and A Murder to Forget . By Design, on cloning. And I'm working on Death Southern Style set in New Orleans. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of September. Check them out and let me know what you think.